Love at first sight
by Worvete
Summary: Mistrust will follow them to Middle Earth. Will they be able to survive it?
1. Chapter 1

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"Ladies?"

"It's an elf! And a dwarf!"

"I do not wish to intrude but I think one is a hobbit, as well."

"An elf? ELF? What is the meaning of this, Gandalf?!"

Mary felt water pour down on her face and although she tried really heard, her eyes were too heavy to open. And to complete that, there was a headache pulsating behind her eyes.

"Help them get up," she heard someone speak with a rough voice. "Kíli, Fíli, come."

Her brain was beginning to associate words and names, but her head hurt too much to even try to care about what surrounded her at the moment.

Next thing, she heard a familiar shriek. "MY HAIR! I'M COVERED IN… MUD!"

Cristina.

"It is raining and you have yer hair buried in the dirt, lady. What did you expect to be covered in? Flowers?"

"Bofur, that-"

"WITH NOTHING, YOU-YOU… MIDGET!"

Mary could try all she wanted to regain her strength back, but Cristina's screams were not helping. She opened one eye first and a raindrop fell right in it forcing her to close it again. "Damn."

"Midget? What are ye, then?"

"Shit, I'm dreaming…or probably hallucinating," she heard Josephine murmur vaguely.

Mary got up at once, but her balance was still affected by whatever happened and she felt a strong arm helping her stay straight. "Easy, lady."

"I'VE SHRINKED! AND MY FEET!"

"What the hell? I'm taller than everyone…"

As her vision was beginning to lose the blur, Mary took the first look at what was really happening. Cristina's clothes were floating around her and seemed to have enlarged two or three sizes at least. Her feet had grown considerably and she was trying her best to cover herself from curious eyes; Josephine was actually really tall – at least taller than Mary and Cristina – and seemed to be sure she was hallucinating for some reason.

Almost guessing what she would see, Mary looked at her hands and saw her fingers to be a little larger than usual and her clothes actually looking like blankets around her. "What the…"

"Gandalf, what is an elf doing here?"

Gandalf?

She looked at her right to see who had helped her and she almost lost her balance again. "Thorin?"

Nothing made sense. Maybe they were dreaming. They had to be.

"Don't touch me, you _thing_!" Cristina blurted out again, completely freaking out. The dwarf who was supposed to help her backed off and looked slightly offended, but said nothing.

"How do you know my name?" Thorin inquired visibly suspicious. Mary knew everyone had their eyes fixed on them, except for Cristina, maybe.

"I heard someone say it," she mumbled under her breath, fearing he might explode on her.

"Someone? No one here has said my name in front of you," he closed the space between them, threateningly. The arm that had previously helped her was now clutching on her own.

"Thorin, let her go," she knew this voice: Gandalf. "Clearly, they are not capable of answering your questions. They seem lost."

Gandalf's intervention was enough for Thorin to obey, although he kept eying her dangerously.

This wasn't a dream for sure. Thorin's touch was real enough for her and she decided not to speak again unless really necessary.

"What is another Halfling doing here, Master Baggins?" An old dwarf with long white beard asked. "Is this some trick?"

Mary cocked her head a bit to the left and saw Bilbo mounted on his pony with a confused look splashed in his face. "T-trick? No, no! I have never seen her in my life."

"You told us she was a hobbit! You know!" Another dwarf half-accused Bilbo.

"Wha-? Look, you can perfectly see she's a hobbit!"

"Who's a hobbit?" Cristina inquired, grabbing the cape the other dwarf had left on the ground for her and wrapping it around her. She obviously knew they were talking about her.

"He's tricking us! That Halfling is with an elf and another dwarf! Traitors!" A dwarf that vaguely resembled Gimli shouted.

Mary had read enough in the Tolkien books to know about the dwarves' temperament. They were only friendly as long as no one started confusing their thoughts.

Cristina was in awe and her mouth fell open. Gandalf dismounted his horse and approached them slowly as if studying and thinking what to say. He stopped right in front of Josephine whose elven ears were now visible due to her soaked hair. "Tell me, lady. What is your name?"

"Josephine…"

Her eyes were slightly red and she was now trembling uncontrollably. A low murmur started amongst the dwarves and it resembled the sound of some mad bees.

"That's not even a proper name!" The one called Bofur stated, gathering the agreement from his fellow dwarves.

"YES! What kind of name is that?"

"She is mocking us, obviously, laddies."

"Thorin, search them! Might have a weapon hidden somewhere."

"A weapon? Gentlemen, where would they hide one?" Bilbo asked rather shocked with those accusations. "Have you seen the way they are dressed?"

"Shut it, burglar. You're trying to confuse us!"

"I am most certainly not!"

"ENOUGH!"

Thorin's voice echoed through the trees. A silence fell over them as they heard the rain fall quietly. Mary had no idea how something like this could have happened. Yes, she was obsessed with Middle Earth and all that concerned it, but ending up in the middle of thirteen dwarves, one wizard and one hobbit was quite absurd. The fact that she was a dwarf as well was just too much for her head to process.

"We shall not waste more time over this," he began with a steady voice, water running through his beard as he spoke. "Gandalf, I assume you can look after them until we reach safe land and that will be the end of it."

"Safe land?" Cristina started with her voice rising. "And where is that, exactly? What have you done to us? You bunch of midgets and weirdos!"

"Cris-"

But before Mary could emend her friend's statement, a thunder of voices came upon them. "She called us midgets again!"

"If you were not a lady, I'd show ya!" That was definitely Glóin, Gimli's father. "A lady insulting us like that! It is an outrage!"

Mary took a glimpse at Bilbo who was definitely lost and didn't dare speaking. Like her, he had found that was the best thing to do.

"I will take care of them, yes," Gandalf accepted, trying to calm Cristina down as well. "You will explain your story as we go and I will see what can be done in order to help you, ladies."

Josephine said nothing, but nodded and Cristina finally stopped fidgeting and cursing in low voice.

"I do not trust them!" Bombur exploded after so much time restraining himself. "An elf with a dwarf? There is something very wrong here, Thorin! Leave'em here."

"Dear friend, I do not trust them either. However, it is expected of us to help a lady when the moment calls for it," Thorin's word was final and he moved quickly back at his pony.

"I will not walk!" Cristina shouted.

"Cristina, stop it," Josephine mumbled.

"Well, of course you're not, lady…?" Gandalf assured with a thin smile.

"Cristina!"

"Lady Cristina," he said her name as if showing a wild animal he was a friend. "You can ride on Myrtle with Bilbo here."

Bilbo's face turned pale. "No, no, Gandalf. Enough with this. I am quite sure you can help her as well. Or Kíli! He was trying to help her before!"

"Nonsense, dear Bilbo. She's a Halfling. Nothing better than to help a fellow hobbit," Gandalf stated with a wider smile on his face.

"I'm not a halfing or hafing! I'm human!" The loud girl made her voice be heard again in protest.

"She's insulting her own kind now. Disrespectful," Dwalin commented, nodding his head slightly.

"You," Thorin called Mary from his pony. "There is only one more pony and it is transporting food and such. Since you are shorter than your _friend _elf, I suggest you mount it."

Mary did not contest his order. It would be better to be on a pony alone than to share it with any of the others who obviously refused to acknowledge her as a dwarf but as a traitor.

"And what about me?" Josephine asked feeling excluded.

"You smell funny!" Ori said, grinning at her.

"She'll walk," Thorin said, with a disgusted expression.

"Thorin…" Gandalf tried to reason with him.

"I will not have an elf riding on my pony or on any of my companion's," the leader immediately responded not allowing Gandalf to interfere with his decision. "If you wish to have her on your horse, do as you please but make sure you ride far away from us."

All said, Josephine got on Gandalf's horse, feeling put aside without even understanding such rage towards her.

Mary followed her example and mounted the pony – seemed more like a horse due to her current height – and looked at Thorin whose eyes met hers briefly before he diverted his gaze somewhere else.

Everyone was quiet except for Cristina who was implicating with poor Bilbo. "Don't you dare touch me, gnome."

He furrowed his brows and turned his head so he could look at the girl sitting behind him. "I really do not understand that need to insult. And why should I touch you? We're on a pony."

"Are you implying you would touch me if not on a pony?!"

"I didn't say that!"

Mary sighed inwardly and followed Thorin and the other dwarves through the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

They were moving at a slow pace mainly because of the rain that insisted on falling without taking a break. Mary was completely soaked and there was nothing she could do to keep herself warm. At this, she decided to examine the rest of her companions: Bilbo and Cristina, who were right behind her, had stopped their exchange of words and insults and gave place to a deathly silence and by the sulky expression on Bilbo's face, it was visible he wasn't a fan of wet weather, too; as she tried to take a glimpse at Gandalf and Josephine who had been force to ride far away from the group, Mary almost fell off the pony.

"Care, little girl," Balin warned as he made sure she sat straight again. "You might tell the truth now. What are you doing traveling with an elf and a hobbit and how you did you know Thorin's name?"

Mary was a fool if she thought they would let this rest in peace. She actually felt sorry for the way Josephine was being treated and found herself wanting the just swap with her friend just to end this rubbish. If this had been any other occasion, Mary would even be thrilled to be in Middle Earth, but they had just landed in the middle of a quest that was bound to bring great misfortunes.

For this, she remained quiet and looked away.

"Lady?" The dwarf tried again, this time more soothingly.

"Leave it, Balin," she heard the leader speak. "I will make sure she talks."

Well, that was pretty straightforward. "Thorin, if they are spies –"

"If they are spies I will behead them myself."

And now he was being extreme.

"There is no need to threaten, Thorin," the distant voice of the grey wizard was heard. "I have been talking to Josephine here and she explained me the situation."

Thorin snorted loudly. "And you believe the word of an elf?"

Once again, frenzy started among the other dwarves. "Your despise for the elves will not help you in any way, Thorin Oakenshield."

"Neither have them when it was expected."

"Does that make them all rotten eggs?" Mary tried to control herself, but this had to stop. Elves were never her favorite race and simply because the majority only helped others when they were also in danger, but this was no excuse to treat every single one with such disdain. "I know why you're like that when it comes to elves and if you had let Gandalf explain you might know why and how I knew your name or the name of any other person here."

Maybe she had gone too far for speaking so bluntly, but she was sure even Thorin knew he was being unfair. Well, she never got to confirm that for he merely eyed her with tense eyes.

The ponies kept their pace and no one touched that subject as they went. Thorin was a strong and firm dwarf. He had seen too much and endured more than some would have. Somehow, it seemed that had earned him the right to treat everyone coldly as if his wounds hadn't healed yet.

"Here, Mister Gandalf?" Dori called, frowning intensely. "Why don't you do something about this deluge?"

"It is raining, master dwarf. And it will continue to rain until the rain is done," Gandalf responded, stating the obvious. "If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard."

Dori wasn't satisfied with his answer and merely rolled his eyes. Mary had no idea they were so impatient as well. She thought being stubborn and immensely proud of themselves was too much bad mood concentrated in such a tiny person. Oh, wait, Mary was now a dwarf, too…

"Are the any…?" Bilbo finally broke off his silence.

"What?"

"Other wizards?"

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White," he told. "Then there are two blues. I have quite forgotten their names."

Bilbo nodded. "And…who is the fifth?"

"Well, that would be Radagast, the Brown," the wizard informed with a slight smile.

"Is he a great wizard or is he more like you?"

That's what Mary would call being inconvenient and it fitted Bilbo perfectly. She could tell by Gandalf's reaction that he was not expecting it. "Well, I think he's a very great wizard in his own way. He has a gentle soul. Prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forestlands to the East and a good thing, too, for all evil will try to find a foothole in this world."

There was a man Mary would like to meet, without doubt. Radagast surely prefers avoiding human contact and compensate with acts of love and kindness towards his little friends.

"I'm cold," Cristina said. "I'm not an elf, you can help me!"

The dwarves glared at the blonde girl with an unfriendly face and Cristina just accepted the fact that it was better to be silent.

The rest of the journey through the forest was pretty much eventless.

As they finally left the humid forest, some rocky upland was now ahead. The rain had stopped and the sun, although faint, was letting his beams dry what was beneath it. And it was about time.

Thorin's horse trotted until he positioned himself in a higher terrain than his fellow companions. "We'll camp here for the night."

Everyone accepted the order and soon dismounted the ponies and started to disperse in order to set the camp. Mary's first worry was to find the girls and debrief them about the current situation and as she was trying to adjust the large clothes around her body, Cristina appeared suddenly. "What the hell is this, Mary? I'm freaking out! Who are these midgets? Why am I a habbit? And these huge feet?!"

Josephine soon joined them under the suspicious looks from the dwarves. "I'd like some answers, too. I mean, what's with all the hate for the elves? I don't get this…"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?!" Cristina yelled and gathered every set of eyes on the group. "You end up inside some twisted fantasy of yours and you don't know?!"

Not far away, she heard Thorin asking Fíli and Kíli to take care of the ponies as Oin and Glóin were asked to get a fire going. Mary inhaled heavily and looked at Cristina who was a few inches shorter than her. "I said I don't know."

"Great! Brilliant! We're stuck with a bunch of…people and can't go anywhere BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHERE WE ARE!"

Thorin approached them with quick steps. "Will you keep it down? You are not in a feast."

Cristina gave him a cold look. "I don't even know who made you the leader! Were there some kind of voting?"

Mary inwardly face-palmed and wished Cristina wasn't such a loud mouth. At her statement, the dwarf simply turned his back on them and resumed his previous activities. Gandalf had been wandering around an abandoned destroyed house and met with Thorin.

"Just calm down, Cristina. Please don't infuriate them," Mary advised as she lowered her voice so that only the other two girls could hear. "You are right, I love the books and movies, but I had nothing to do with this incident. You might not agree with me, but it's best if we stick around with them until I say so."

"No way! I heard what the other told you! He'd take off our heads!"

"He didn't mean th –"

"They don't like me. I don't want to be in the company of people who have clearly marked their hatred," Josephine intervened and Mary couldn't blame her for such attitude.

"Dwarves and elves have a tense relationship. I mean, they have no relationship at all."

"I figured…"

Cristina was gone by now and was inspecting the area avoiding at all costs any contact with others. Gandalf and Thorin were having a tight conversation in which resulted the loss of the wizard's patience.

"Everything alright?" Bilbo asked worriedly while stroking a pony next to Balin. The wizard didn't answer him. "Gandalf? Where are you going?"

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense," he responded with an upset tone and steady paces as he reached for his horse.

"And who's that?" The hobbit asked again.

"Myself, Mister Baggins!" He shouted. "Had enough of dwarves for one day."

Josephine ran to meet Gandalf. "You can't leave, Mister Gandalf. I'm afraid they might kill me or something."

The wizard's face relaxed and a solidary smile took form. "Dear Josephine, do not fear. Stay with your friends and hold on."

That said, he mounted his horse and left, leaving behind a confused Bilbo. "Is he coming back?"

Balin didn't answer and merely shrugged.

"Come on, Bombur. We're hungry," Thorin commanded with eyes fixed on Gandalf.

Darkness fell on Middle Earth and the smell of stew left in Mary's stomach an ache for food. Neither of the three girls had eaten anything since they were found and with all the tension and discussions, her body was craving for some calories. By the look on everyone's faces, they felt the same.

She got closer to the camp fire and warmed her hands and noted that Bombur wasn't quite done with it yet. The other two girls were sitting by the fire with a blanked barely covering Josephine's legs but was enough for Cristina. They looked really tired and taciturn and who was Mary to think otherwise?

Balin, who had been looking intensely at the fire, coughed slightly. "I am willing to hear your story even if Thorin is not."

This surprised her, but her nature forbade her to speak. She let her eyes roam around to see if she could spot Thorin. There he was contemplating the moon and not paying attention to what was going on in the camp. She noticed he was staring out at the valley, his expression a little more drawn to the moment than expected.

"Don't mind him, child. There's more to him that what you have seen."

She wanted to say she understood, but wasn't sure that was the right thing to do. "I see."

"Well, you can start now," Balin said, looking at her. "Your story."

Where would she begin? "Where I come from, my world, there was a man who wrote books about this world. Telling the tales and the battles Middle Earth had seen and how it all began."

"He wrote about us? What did he say? How did he know?" She noted a note of insult in his voice. "Who is he?"

"He's dead, but he made our world see yours with great respect, I can assure you that. That's how I know all your names and where you are headed right now."

The dwarf put on a skeptical look. She had to admit it seemed crazy and maybe too much to believe in, but it was the truth. If she had told this to Thorin, she'd probably be dead by now. He wouldn't take in such tale.

"Good gracious," Balin murmured astonished. "But…how can you be a dwarf?"

Cristina and Josephine were both listening, as well. "In my world we were all humans. I have no idea how this happened."

"You said you knew where we were headed. You told anyone?"

"No! Not even they know," she pointed her finger at the girls who nodded. "You were the first ones we saw here."

Some dwarves had stopped their affairs and joined the group. Thorin, however, didn't seem to have noticed the silence in which the camp was in.

"It sounds very doubtful, lady," Glóin pointed out with a grimace.

"Look, we're not here because we want! I'd rather be dead," the hobbit girl spat.

"That can be arranged," Bofur informed flatly.

Cristina got up as fast as a lightning and outlined the fire to have a better vision of said dwarf. "You little cretin!"

This time, Mary saw Thorin's head turned slightly. "Enough with the yelling, lady Halfling. We may not be alone."

"What did you call me?!"

"Stop it, Cristina!" Mary said firmly, grabbing her arm.

Balin was the first that tried to reason again. "I must be honest and say I don't quite believe what you told us, lady Mary."

Mary didn't expect anything else. "I understand."

All the other dwarves were gazing at her as if she was mental and had just made that up. She needed Gandalf there to help them. But instead of just standing there defeated, she went up the hill where Thorin had been standing for the past hour or so. "I know you don't trust me."

He turned slowly at her, face impassive as ever. "You are right, I don't."

"We are not spies or traitors or whatever. We were humans in our world and somehow…" her voice vacillated for a moment. "Somehow we ended up like this. I'm a dwarf, but don't come from any part of Middle Earth. Josephine there had never seen an elf before in her life and Cristina doesn't even know how to pronounce "hobbit" correctly. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

Thorin's sight was fixed somewhere in the middle distance. "All of this is odd and I do not trust any of you, either way."

Mary's fingers flexed immediately, probably giving away her rebellion towards the king under the mountain. "Do you even think we represent any threat?"

He spun, and suddenly all his passiveness vanished. "Why do you think the enemy relies on birds and such to get information and such? Because no one sees the harm in a nightingale! I do. We dwarves have learned a long time ago not to trust _appealing_ things."

Had he just…Mary was shaken off her thoughts as the king's face got near her own. She felt his breath coming down on her face and she blinked. "I don't trust _you_. Do yourself a favor and spare the storytelling nonsense. No one here will fall for it."

His anger now spent, he stepped down the hill and joined his partners who were curious to know about their little conversation. Josephine and Cristina came to her with apprehensive looks.

"What did that bastard told you?"

"He just commanded some of them to keep an eye on us," Josephine informed, rather worried.

"Just leave it," Mary said shortly. "We are not welcome here and we need to wait for Gandalf. Hopefully, he'll be here soon."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Mary_**

"He's been a long time," Bilbo commented impatiently, as he paced around.

"Who?" Bofur asked while he poured the stew in some bowls.

"Gandalf!"

"He's a wizard," the dwarf answered as if it was pretty obvious. "He does as he chooses."

Cristina, who happened to be passing by, decided to intervene. "What's the fuss all about?"

Bilbo halted his steps and faced the other hobbit with eyes wide open. "The fuss? If you have nothing helpful to say then I suggest you keep your thoughts in your head."

"I was trying to be nice, moron," she spat, taking a bowl to herself abruptly from Bofur's hands. "It's not like you two are married, right?"

Mary diverted her eyes from the fire and looked at a shocked Bilbo. When Cristina started rambling like that, only bad things happened. She was actually implying something really serious and she might just regret jumping to such conclusions.

However, none of the dwarves seemed to mind the topic and didn't even care to interrupt the chattering.

Seeing that Bilbo wasn't replying, she made one more assault. "Look, I have plenty of gay friends!" She actually had none, for she saw homosexuality like a plague. "Where I come from, taking in the bottom is quite normal."

Silence.

"Cristina…"

"I don't even know what you are implying with the word "gay" exactly, so don't just insult me with riddles!" Bilbo's face was flushed and he didn't mind if his voice was louder than usual. "And "taking it in the bottom"? I mean…really! I've never met such rudeness in my life! What part of the Shire do you come from? A cave?"

"What do you take us for, lady?" Bombur asked rather angry.

The girl stopped eating and, for the first time, Mary saw fear in her eyes. It wasn't just Bombur who seemed to have taken that as an insult, Balin and the older ones weren't smiling as well. As for Thorin…

He just rose to his feet with a deathly look on his tired eyes and abandoned his seat besides Dwalin. If Mary had seen someone coming in her direction with such determination, she would have just run until her legs turned into jelly.

"Every time you open your mouth, nothing cleaver comes out," he began, as he glanced at her in annoyance. The whole group kept silence. "If your purpose is to set a revolution, maybe it is time for you to leave. Woman or not."

"I was just breaking the ice, you know…being funny," her voice trembled with fright.

"Funny?" Thorin repeated, approaching her, grabbing her by the one empty hand and pushing her back against a three meters rock. "Funny? Do you think we are having fun here?"

"Let me go!"

Mary and Josephine immediately came to her rescue. The elf girl spoke first. "Stop being an asshole! Let her go!"

"He's right," Mary said, contrary to what her friends might have expected. Even Thorin seemed slightly surprised. "Cristina needs to stop acting like a child. This is not a party and you know it."

Cristina pulled her wrist hard enough that Thorin finally let her go. She then threw the bowl on the dirt. "Who needs enemies with friends like you?"

As she disappeared in the woods, Josephine followed her and a good thing, too. It took a brief moment for Mary to set her ideas in place and understand why she'd spoken so harsh to a person who probably would do more for her than any of the people standing in front of her right now.

But Mary was tired of Cristina's attitudes. She had done nothing but complain and provoke Bilbo with no excuse. They were all on the same boat and they had earned the chance to be under the dwarves' protection – even if they hadn't done it so lightly – so why spoil things? The dwarf girl knew of the Quest of Erebor. How much they had sacrificed to be there. Cristina hardly had had any complications in her life. Having a bunch of people calling her slut didn't exactly meet the definition of "hard life".

For a moment, she thought Thorin would say something to her as he was staring directly at her. She saw his piercing eyes evaluating her and he opened his mouth to speak, but Balin had been faster. "Thorin, come here. We have to alter some things in our route."

"I'm not expecting you to feel sorry for what I've done," Mary said, trying to act normal before he attended to Balin.

Unexpectedly, he let out a modest chuckle. "You have just turned yourself against your companions. I do not believe pity will suit you."

"I didn't say that to gain anything from you, okay?" She insisted, only later realizing how ridiculous she sounded.

He said nothing for like ten seconds. "Orin, go see if you find our _guests _nearby."

"Why me? It's dark," the dwarf pouted.

"Just go," Thorin repeated more firmly.

"Will you stop ignoring me for once?" Mary said impatiently.

Clearly not aware of the ambience, Bofur spoke. "You, girl, come help Master Baggins with the bowls and bring that one on the floor, if you please."

Mary could have just imagined things, but she could swear Thorin's expression hardened with Bofur's intervention. However, she did as she was told and brought the bowl to her hands, not looking at the leader again.

* * *

_**Kíli**_

Kíli's sword was ready to strike as he heard some noises coming from some proximate bushes. Unluckily, Fíli was busy taking the harnesses off the ponies and he might not have heard it.

_Let's hope it's nothing too serious_.

"Fíli!" He murmured as loud as possible, but his brother remained oblivious.

_Great!_

He then heard someone… cry?

"FÍLI!"

A tall figured appeared and he realized it was the elf. He frowned deeply as he brother readily joined him with his hand on the sword handle. The elf was accompanied by a hobbit and it wasn't Master Baggins.

"What happened?" Fíli asked, seeing the Halfling wiping tears off her face. "You should not be roaming alone at night."

Who cared, really? They had already delayed and complicated things enough as it is. Not that he wanted them to be left in the wilderness, of course.

"Just go die. Okay, dwarf?" Cristina said unkindly enough.

"Hey, no need to act like that!" Fíli remarked steadily, although he sounded worried and Kíli didn't understand why.

"Did something happen?" The brown-haired dwarf asked.

The elf moved them away and helped her friend sit on a cork's trunk. Was she dying? Honestly, he couldn't care less. The hobbit would make a riot out of everything and he was waiting for the moment a bunch of orcs would come down on them because of the racket.

"Elf, answer," Kíli ordered, not having the patience to endure women's problems. "What is it this time?"

The tall woman – who was now standing at her full height in front of their eyes – clenched her fists. "No one asked for your help! Go burn in hell. All of you!"

"Hell?"

Now she was crying as well and Kíli just felt his knees go weak. Her braids gently brushed her face as her head was slightly tilted and he just… he had heard tales from travelers that the beauty of the elves was incomparable and he had never believed, for he had never gazed his eyes upon one before. In that moment, he wondered why such hostile acts to such…

He heard his brother beside him say something to them which made their cries worsen. For the first time in his considerable short life, the dwarf fell to his knees and he fell hard.

"Kíli?!" His brother's voice was distant and he felt his arm meet his shoulder as he shook him. Maybe this was some spell. Yes, some men spoke of it… of how they used spells to control weak minds.

Weak?

Tears rolled down his gelid face and he locked his eyes on hers, for she had noticed what had just happened.

His fingers met the dirt and he filled his hands with small pieces of leaves and soil. Fíli was shaking him so violently that it was a miracle their gaze was still intact. "KÍLI!"

His brain restarted and Kíli blinked, breaking the connection and standing up again. Fíli was looking at him like he had grown a third arm. "What just happened?"

"I... I…" he couldn't speak. How was this possible? "You! What did you do to me?"

The woman was bearing a confused expression on her beaut… FACE!

_I just want to…_

"What do you mean, brother?" Fíli asked, eyeing the elf suspiciously.

"More lunatics, Phine," the hobbit stated, rolling her now dry eyes and shook some leaves that had fallen on her vests. "Let's just go back. It's cold. Phine?"

Kíli fought his thoughts away. Not even the elf dared speaking and he gathered she was guilty. "What did you do?!"

* * *

_**Mary**_

"I heard what you said to the dwarves," Bilbo initiated a conversation as they were taking some stew to Kíli and Fíli. "I mean… is it true? _Can_ it be true?"

Mary pouted, removing some tiny herbs from her path. "Believe in what you want."

"Look," the Halfling took wider steps to accompany hers and was now sort of blocking her way. "I'm also a stranger to these… adventures. If you made that up to cover something, I won't tell. I mean, I like dwarves as much as the next hobbit."

Reality stroke Mary as she finally noticed no one would ever believe her. The feeling of disability invaded her and she almost stumbled on a fallen tree trunk. If someone had come to her in her world and stated he or she belonged to Middle Earth, she wouldn't believe it either, so why bother trying to make them see the truth?

"Just leave it, Bilbo. You're kind, I know. You have a helping spirit and I'm just sorry we've appeared in a moment when you barely know what you're getting yourself into."

He held his breath and put on a peculiar face. "Do you mean… they have deceived me?"

"No! They haven't," she had to smile at his mistrust. "I just know too much and much I'd prefer not knowing."

And again, Bilbo looked extremely confused, but the talk was over as they arrived to the expected place, which held a weird atmosphere.

Cristina and Josephine were with Kíli – somehow, refused to approached them – and with Fíli. All were petrified and Mary knew exactly why.

The troll scene.

Bilbo stood between the two brothers and looked at each of them. "What's the matter?"

"We're supposed to be looking after the ponies," Kíli answered first, not moving.

"Only, we've encountered a… slight problem," Fíli was next.

Mary positioned herself beside Josephine – who looked even odder than the two dwarves– and glanced at Cristina. "Cristina…"

"Sush!" She said placing her index finger on her closed lips.

"We had sixteen…."

"And now there's fourteen."

The two dwarves stepped forward and took a look at the remaining ponies as Bilbo followed them with one bowl in his hand. Fíli went ahead. "Daisy and Bungo are missing."

"Well, that's… not good. And that…aaha" Bilbo observed letting out a nervous laugh and pointing at an area clearly ravaged by something. " is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"Aaah, no," Fíli immediately answered. Mary figured he might be afraid of Thorin's reaction. Who could blame him? "Let's not worry him."

As they kept on talking, Mary focused on getting the girls' attention, since she knew what was about to happen, anyway.

"Cristina, I'm sorry. I didn't say that to make you feel bad or embarrass you," she started.

"Let's go, Phine," Cristina called, ignoring the dwarf girl entirely. Josephine just hummed and kept on with the girl's paces towards the other group, leaving Mary behind.

Oh, the nerves! Really. One more childish attitude coming from Cristina. No wonder, she'd probably end all alone.

Mary decided not to move and just wait for Kíli and Fíli who would be appearing again in no time.

The ground trembled slightly and there they were. Kíli was actually sprinting as fast as he could and grabbed her arm. "Come! We need to get back at the camp!"

"Why?" She feigned not knowing as she started running, too, letting the bowl of stew fall behind.

"Trolls!" Fíli answered, breathlessly. "We need to go help them!"

And one more mistake made by Mary. Well, it was too late now.

* * *

**_Jospehine_**

Why she had decided to act all heroically? She had no clue, but she knew it would cost her hard. Worse thing was that Cristina was too scared to be left alone and came along with them, so if some happened to her, it'd cost her double.

The hardest thing was actually looking back and noticing that Fíli and Kíli were gone. They had deserted them at the mercy of three monstrous trolls.

She actually felt sorry for poor Bilbo who was taking the lead and was sneaking into the Troll's territory as one had just brought two more ponies.

_Dear God…_

Enormous beasts and rather pathetic they were.

"Cristina, go with him," she muttered, pushing her friend to follow the other hobbit, but she was trembling and paralyzed. "If I go, they'll see me. I'll stay here in case something goes wrong. Go!"

Luckily, she went and not protesting, which was something new. Cristina quickly joined Bilbo and the two were trying their best not to be seen.

The trolls were arguing about something, but her ears shut down. And why? Because she just couldn't get off her mind what had happened with Kíli, which was beyond awkward, and, apparently, he freaked about something oblivious to her.

The way he had knelt before her and started crying… it's was obvious it had been something she had done while crying, too. But what? The dwarves hated the elves and just acted like a devoted fan or whatever.

Josephine heard more arguing and some squeaks in the background, but paid no attention until she saw both Cristina and Bilbo in the hands of a troll. He then tossed them on the ground with violence.

"Cristina!" She came out running and when another one grabbed her, she knew she had just screwed up.

* * *

_**Mary**_

Thorin had been warned and they were almost arriving at said spot. Orin had come back eventually since he had found nothing and joined the crew as fast as he could with his slingshot and fighting will. Mary followed his example and grabbed a sword she found nearby.

When they finally were there, screams were heard. "Cristina!"

"Stay quiet," Thorin said sharply. "We do not want to draw their attention just yet."

Kíli was the first to get all _excited_? He couldn't stop walking in circles with his bow and an arrow ready to serve him and his sword on his left hand. Why was he so nervous? Was he feeling guilty for leaving them there? Probably. Mary should feel, too, but she knew things would end up just fine. They _had_ to.

The rest of the dwarves crouched behind some bushes and trees and waited for Thorin's command.

"Kíli, will you stop it?" Thorin muttered resting his sword on his side.

"I'll go first, uncle," he said so fast, Mary almost missed it. "I have to."

At this, the dwarves started at him in surprise. Thorin nodded. "Very well. You go first and we will follow when I see fit."

He had barely finished his sentenced, when Kíli had already disappeared.

There was something very strange going on. Fíli wasn't even all jumpy to get there and face three trolls alone. However, Thorin didn't seem to mind, because this was all planned in his head.

* * *

**_Josephine_**

As a troll had grabbed her right leg and swung her upside down, Josephine thought to herself that this might be the end. Cristina's screams and sobs made her feel even worse. Bilbo looked so quiet that she realized it must have been due to the fright and shock.

The trolls' accent was so hideous, that with all the struggle and screams, she could not make any word of what they were saying.

That was when she saw someone tiny coming from somewhere and starting to attack a troll with accurate cuts from a sword. The dark hair and agility made him very clear: Kíli.

"Drop them!"

"You wha'?" The troll holding Cristina and Bilbo inquired.

Josephine could barely see him straight, but he then said with more reliance. "I said drop them!"

And surprisingly enough, the trolls obeyed and threw them and Josephine at him. Kíli immediately fell with the blow and as she was about to thank him, more shouts came only this time from the dwarves who entered the camp led by Thorin.

What happened next was a mixture of clinging noises and moans coming from varied directions. Josephine crawled to meet Cristina who was in shock and hugged her. "Let's get out of here."

She then saw Mary coming in their direction. The dwarf girl was holding a sword herself and looked really confident on her fighting skills. "Get out of here! Go!"

The elf girl looked for Kíli, but had lost his sight in the turmoil of events.

* * *

**_Mary_**

This was her true opportunity to make up for her mistake and to prove to Thorin she was capable of defending herself and others when needed. Honestly, she had no idea what she was doing and just cleaned after them, which meant Dwalin would attack a troll and she'd follow his gesture, wounding them even more.

Bilbo, apparently, was more concerned in releasing the ponies rather than helping in battle. She then saw Orin try to inflict some pain with his slingshot and he was succeeding, fortunately.

But Thorin had to be the most experienced by far in terms of sword skill. The way he laid his attacks was impressive; it was like seeing a rehearsed scene from Lord of The Rings, only he didn't rehearse at all. It was so natural and fluid. Mary was pretty sure it was so natural to him that it didn't even tire him.

"Move!" Someone shout and she noticed she had been standing for the last minute staring at a dwarf fighting.

Unfortunately, a troll was able to grab Bilbo and Josephine which made them all stop attacking and back off. They grabbed their arms and legs as if threatening to pull them off. Kíli had to be stopped by his uncle or he'd return to battle. "No!"

Mary assumed he had grown fond of Bilbo to be willing to risk his life. Of course it wasn't about Josephine.

"Lay down your arms or we'll rip theirs off!" One threatened.

Bilbo's face was frozen with scare and Josephine's was getting pale. Mary knew Thorin wouldn't risk their lives even though they weren't his kin, so he did as he was told and stuck his sword on the ground. The others – including Mary – did the same thing.

Things happened so fast, that before Mary could do anything she was inside a stinky bag alongside Thorin, Bilbo, Bombur, Glóin, Josephine, Cristina, Balin and some others as the rest was being prepared to be eaten.

"Wait!" Bilbo called for attention. "You are making a terrible mistake!"

He stood up inside his bag and leaped a few times. "I meant with the… seasoning."

"What about the seasoning?"

"Well, have you smelled them?" He asked. "You're gonna need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot."

"What do you know about cooking dwarves? Shut up!"

"Let the "fluberhuberhobbit" talk," another said.

"I.. I... the secret to cooking dwarves is…" Bilbo began, stuttering.

"Yes? Come on!"

"Uum… yes! The secret is to… skin them first!"

An ambience of displeasure was heard from the dwarves. Mary wasn't sure Cristina was breathing anymore. "Cristina?"

All of a sudden, Bombur was grabbed and hoisted to the air. "Not that one! He's infected!"

"You wha'?"

"It's got worms in his… tubes!"

The dwarf was thrown back at the group earning a disgusted face from the troll that had grabbed him. However, Bilbo carried on. "In fact, they all have! They're infested with parasites. It's a terrible business! I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't. "

The dwarves started to shout at Bilbo again with anger. "You have parasites!"

The hobbit rolled his eyes and Mary looked at Thorin who had understood his idea and warned Kíli and the others. They soon joined Bilbo's plan.

"What would you have us do, then? Let'em all go?" A troll asked Bilbo.

"Well…" the hobbit mused.

After all, trolls weren't so stupid and figured Bilbo's plan but before they could do anything, Gandalf's voice was heard. "The dawn will take you all!"

The wizard then broke a rock in two allowing the sunrise to shine upon them. Eventually, they were all turned into stone. Everyone started chanting victoriously and, for the first time, Mary saw Thorin smile. It suited him better than the usual frowns and it made him look younger, much younger.

When everyone was out of the bags and alright again, Mary came to meet her friends. "Josephine? Cristina?"

Both girls were standing again and seemed okay. Josephine bent down and hugged her warmly. However, Cristina did not. "You read the book, haven't you?"

_What the…_

"Answer me!"

Mary's heart started racing and pounding in her ribcage. "I did."

"You knew this would happen! You knew!"

Eventually, she drew everyone's attention to her, once again. Josephine opened her mouth in awe. "What? Mary?"

She was trapped. There was no way out. Thorin and Gandalf joined them. The leader spoke first, his face dark again. "What is the meaning of this?"

"She read the books! Mary knew about this troll thing and let us come here anyway!" Cristina was choleric now.

"I did so for a reason!"

"How did you know this would happen?" Thorin insisted, closing in on her.

"I told you! I read the books."

"And I told you I do not believe that," he replied, eyes like piercing blades.

"Oh! I know why she did that," Cristina yelled gloriously. "So she could be the hero! And if anything went wrong, she'd still be a hero to her lover!"

Lover? Everyone repeated the word. What lover?

"You!" She was pointing at… Thorin! "I've seen the way she looks at you! And you're no different!"

Her hearth skipped a beat. Or two…

Mary didn't dare facing the man before her. Cristina accused of something that wasn't even true! In the slightest and now her face was burning hot with shame. She expected to hear laughter coming from the dwarves, but heard nothing.

"Is that true?" Thorin asked, distancing himself from her.

"What?"

"What the Halfling said."

_Oh boy…_


	4. Chapter 4

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"Ladies?"

"It's an elf! And a dwarf!"

"I do not wish to intrude but I think one is a hobbit, as well."

"An elf? ELF? What is the meaning of this, Gandalf?!"

Mary felt water pour down on her face and although she tried really heard, her eyes were too heavy to open. And to complete that, there was a headache pulsating behind her eyes.

"Help them get up," she heard someone speak with a rough voice. "Kíli, Fíli, come."

Her brain was beginning to associate words and names, but her head hurt too much to even try to care about what surrounded her at the moment.

Next thing, she heard a familiar shriek. "MY HAIR! I'M COVERED IN… MUD!"

Cristina.

"It is raining and you have yer hair buried in the dirt, lady. What did you expect to be covered in? Flowers?"

"Bofur, that-"

"WITH NOTHING, YOU-YOU… MIDGET!"

Mary could try all she wanted to regain her strength back, but Cristina's screams were not helping. She opened one eye first and a raindrop fell right in it forcing her to close it again. "Damn."

"Midget? What are ye, then?"

"Shit, I'm dreaming…or probably hallucinating," she heard Josephine murmur vaguely.

Mary got up at once, but her balance was still affected by whatever happened and she felt a strong arm helping her stay straight. "Easy, lady."

"I'VE SHRINKED! AND MY FEET!"

"What the hell? I'm taller than everyone…"

As her vision was beginning to lose the blur, Mary took the first look at what was really happening. Cristina's clothes were floating around her and seemed to have enlarged two or three sizes at least. Her feet had grown considerably and she was trying her best to cover herself from curious eyes; Josephine was actually really tall – at least taller than Mary and Cristina – and seemed to be sure she was hallucinating for some reason.

Almost guessing what she would see, Mary looked at her hands and saw her fingers to be a little larger than usual and her clothes actually looking like blankets around her. "What the…"

"Gandalf, what is an elf doing here?"

Gandalf?

She looked at her right to see who had helped her and she almost lost her balance again. "Thorin?"

Nothing made sense. Maybe they were dreaming. They had to be.

"Don't touch me, you _thing_!" Cristina blurted out again, completely freaking out. The dwarf who was supposed to help her backed off and looked slightly offended, but said nothing.

"How do you know my name?" Thorin inquired visibly suspicious. Mary knew everyone had their eyes fixed on them, except for Cristina, maybe.

"I heard someone say it," she mumbled under her breath, fearing he might explode on her.

"Someone? No one here has said my name in front of you," he closed the space between them, threateningly. The arm that had previously helped her was now clutching on her own.

"Thorin, let her go," she knew this voice: Gandalf. "Clearly, they are not capable of answering your questions. They seem lost."

Gandalf's intervention was enough for Thorin to obey, although he kept eying her dangerously.

This wasn't a dream for sure. Thorin's touch was real enough for her and she decided not to speak again unless really necessary.

"What is another Halfling doing here, Master Baggins?" An old dwarf with long white beard asked. "Is this some trick?"

Mary cocked her head a bit to the left and saw Bilbo mounted on his pony with a confused look splashed in his face. "T-trick? No, no! I have never seen her in my life."

"You told us she was a hobbit! You know!" Another dwarf half-accused Bilbo.

"Wha-? Look, you can perfectly see she's a hobbit!"

"Who's a hobbit?" Cristina inquired, grabbing the cape the other dwarf had left on the ground for her and wrapping it around her. She obviously knew they were talking about her.

"He's tricking us! That Halfling is with an elf and another dwarf! Traitors!" A dwarf that vaguely resembled Gimli shouted.

Mary had read enough in the Tolkien books to know about the dwarves' temperament. They were only friendly as long as no one started confusing their thoughts.

Cristina was in awe and her mouth fell open. Gandalf dismounted his horse and approached them slowly as if studying and thinking what to say. He stopped right in front of Josephine whose elven ears were now visible due to her soaked hair. "Tell me, lady. What is your name?"

"Josephine…"

Her eyes were slightly red and she was now trembling uncontrollably. A low murmur started amongst the dwarves and it resembled the sound of some mad bees.

"That's not even a proper name!" The one called Bofur stated, gathering the agreement from his fellow dwarves.

"YES! What kind of name is that?"

"She is mocking us, obviously, laddies."

"Thorin, search them! Might have a weapon hidden somewhere."

"A weapon? Gentlemen, where would they hide one?" Bilbo asked rather shocked with those accusations. "Have you seen the way they are dressed?"

"Shut it, burglar. You're trying to confuse us!"

"I am most certainly not!"

"ENOUGH!"

Thorin's voice echoed through the trees. A silence fell over them as they heard the rain fall quietly. Mary had no idea how something like this could have happened. Yes, she was obsessed with Middle Earth and all that concerned it, but ending up in the middle of thirteen dwarves, one wizard and one hobbit was quite absurd. The fact that she was a dwarf as well was just too much for her head to process.

"We shall not waste more time over this," he began with a steady voice, water running through his beard as he spoke. "Gandalf, I assume you can look after them until we reach safe land and that will be the end of it."

"Safe land?" Cristina started with her voice rising. "And where is that, exactly? What have you done to us? You bunch of midgets and weirdos!"

"Cris-"

But before Mary could emend her friend's statement, a thunder of voices came upon them. "She called us midgets again!"

"If you were not a lady, I'd show ya!" That was definitely Glóin, Gimli's father. "A lady insulting us like that! It is an outrage!"

Mary took a glimpse at Bilbo who was definitely lost and didn't dare speaking. Like her, he had found that was the best thing to do.

"I will take care of them, yes," Gandalf accepted, trying to calm Cristina down as well. "You will explain your story as we go and I will see what can be done in order to help you, ladies."

Josephine said nothing, but nodded and Cristina finally stopped fidgeting and cursing in low voice.

"I do not trust them!" Bombur exploded after so much time restraining himself. "An elf with a dwarf? There is something very wrong here, Thorin! Leave'em here."

"Dear friend, I do not trust them either. However, it is expected of us to help a lady when the moment calls for it," Thorin's word was final and he moved quickly back at his pony.

"I will not walk!" Cristina shouted.

"Cristina, stop it," Josephine mumbled.

"Well, of course you're not, lady…?" Gandalf assured with a thin smile.

"Cristina!"

"Lady Cristina," he said her name as if showing a wild animal he was a friend. "You can ride on Myrtle with Bilbo here."

Bilbo's face turned pale. "No, no, Gandalf. Enough with this. I am quite sure you can help her as well. Or Kíli! He was trying to help her before!"

"Nonsense, dear Bilbo. She's a Halfling. Nothing better than to help a fellow hobbit," Gandalf stated with a wider smile on his face.

"I'm not a halfing or hafing! I'm human!" The loud girl made her voice be heard again in protest.

"She's insulting her own kind now. Disrespectful," Dwalin commented, nodding his head slightly.

"You," Thorin called Mary from his pony. "There is only one more pony and it is transporting food and such. Since you are shorter than your _friend _elf, I suggest you mount it."

Mary did not contest his order. It would be better to be on a pony alone than to share it with any of the others who obviously refused to acknowledge her as a dwarf but as a traitor.

"And what about me?" Josephine asked feeling excluded.

"You smell funny!" Ori said, grinning at her.

"She'll walk," Thorin said, with a disgusted expression.

"Thorin…" Gandalf tried to reason with him.

"I will not have an elf riding on my pony or on any of my companion's," the leader immediately responded not allowing Gandalf to interfere with his decision. "If you wish to have her on your horse, do as you please but make sure you ride far away from us."

All said, Josephine got on Gandalf's horse, feeling put aside without even understanding such rage towards her.

Mary followed her example and mounted the pony – seemed more like a horse due to her current height – and looked at Thorin whose eyes met hers briefly before he diverted his gaze somewhere else.

Everyone was quiet except for Cristina who was implicating with poor Bilbo. "Don't you dare touch me, gnome."

He furrowed his brows and turned his head so he could look at the girl sitting behind him. "I really do not understand that need to insult. And why should I touch you? We're on a pony."

"Are you implying you would touch me if not on a pony?!"

"I didn't say that!"

Mary sighed inwardly and followed Thorin and the other dwarves through the forest.

This is more of a filler chapter since I believe some things must be deepened : p I made a mistake in the last chapter as I wrote "Orin" instead of "Ori". Thank you, ThexWhitexPhoenix for pointing that out and I'm sorry for such a typo! Anyway, thank you all for your support ^^ and I shall be updating as soon as possible, as always! Review!

Mary heard her own heart beat echoing in her ears. Thorin's question still vibrated her brain. "Cristina is mad, I get it. I'd probably be, too. But believe when I say she's exaggerating."

"I'm not…" Cristina said, much calmer now that Mary was under the knife and not her, for starters. "I mean, I'm just saying what I think to be true."

"Cristina, please! What if, while resting, the trolls had attacked us? We would be unprepared and something really bad could happen. This way, I was almost sure things would go as planned…"

She rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

However, Thorin's attention was no longer on them and he was now muttering something to Gandalf who seemed to have reluctantly accepted whatever he had said. The son of Thrain then stated evenly. "Until we discover what this is – what you are, you'll be shackled with something. All three of you."

Fair enough. She was actually surprised he hadn't just decided to leave them there rotting. No one protested, before Kíli made his presence be noticed. "Uncle, you can't –"

"I can't? You have been acting odd this night," Thorin grunted, not quite getting what Kíli was aiming at. "What is it? Why can't I?"

Like before, Mary knew there was something not fitting right. She saw that exactly in Kíli's face and how it had twisted into some disturbed and confused expression. "It is not like all of them are to be… _punished_ for this."

This wasn't making any sense at all. She looked at Josephine had eyes red from crying and there were still some tears stuck on her elven features. Both Balin and Fíli came closer to Kíli. The elder spoke first. "My son, don't contest Thorin's orders. They are acquainted and have made it clear they have been hiding something."

"Kíli, stop acting weird," Fíli mumbled very close to his brother. "You're scaring me."

"Is there something you wish to tell us, lad?" Dwalin asked, with his usual mistrustful look.

"There is nothing, Mister Dwalin," he assure, though his voice hid something. It was not like Mary was an expert at these things, far from it, actually. Her capacity to get some of the innuendos in some conversations was below average. She just didn't care, but this time she reckoned the dwarf meant more than he had said.

"There is a pond nearby," Thorin said, breaking the tension. "You three can go clean yourselves. Bofur, Dwalin and Fíli will watch the perimeter and make sure you do not run away."

None of them spoke. Mary couldn't help but noticing Josephine and Cristina had merely nodded in acceptance. No sobs or shouts came from them in that moment, surprisingly. The three dwarves that had been summoned grabbed some blankets and handed them over to each of the girls. Dwalin – who gave it to Mary – lingered his gaze on her for a brief instant.

"Let's just go," Cristina finally said sounding utterly tired and impatient.

"Dwalin, only five minutes. We cannot stay here too long," the leader informed as Dwalin pushed Mary into following her companions.

"This would be easier fer you if you'd tell the truth," he commented upon arriving to the tiny lake.

"What good does it do if you don't believe us?" Mary observed.

"Well, make it quick."

"Can you please just back off? I mean… we'd like some privacy," Cristina asked with politeness, which surprised everyone.

"Just was off yer hands and face. It'll do it," Bofur said bluntly. They clearly licked the sensitivity needed to deal with the most basic aspects of personal hygiene.

"Our clothes are all dirty. They will need washing, too," Josephine explained, but, as always, not getting any attention from the dwarves.

"Don't mind them, Phine," the hobbit said quite evenly, being the first to unbutton her extremely long and large jeans. "Probably never saw a naked woman before."

If Cristina thought they would turn around and respect her will, she was totally wrong. They weren't even offended by her last statement. Not bothering at all for being the first one to get rid of her clothes, she carried on.

Bofur and Dwalin sat on a large rock giving them space and diving into a private talk. However, Fíli didn't move.

"This is so embarrassing," Josephine said in a murmur, taking off her sneakers and letting her feet enter the water.

Mary's curves were not as protuberant as Cristina's or even Josephine's. She was a total surfboard when it came to her upper body. Dragging her fingers through her hair with an exasperated sigh, she tried to look as normal as the situation would allow. "Josephine?"

The elf girl had entered the pond and had refused to take of her clothes, unfortunately her white tunic was pretty much see-through and she couldn't hide those parts if she wanted to bathe correctly. As Mary called her, she stopped scrubbing her vests and sighed. "Unlike Cristina, I do believe you had your motives for doing what you did."

"Really?"

"Sure. Nothing happened, hopefully," she agreed timidly. "Give her some time and cut her some slack… you know how Cristina is. She didn't say that on purpose."

Mary took a deep breath, joining her elf friend and seeing Cristina in the farthest side from the pond, avoiding them. "She _knew_ exactly what she was doing and saying, Phine. She's an adult, not a child."

"You know you can trust me, right?"

Mary hummed. "So… was it true? That you are involved with the dwarf?"

"You make it sound like we're a couple or something," Mary mumbled, trying to get some dirt from beneath her nails, stubbornly. "He treats me like shit half of the time and the other one he spends making sure I get that he doesn't trust me. _Or us!_"

"And now you him sound like a total asshole," Josephine chuckled lightly and Mary saw her looking where the dwarves stood and she then lowered her face, looking stressed. "Why is Kíli here?"

Mary saw Thorin's nephews looking at them as if they were eating them with their eyes. Josephine had her cheeks so red, the dwarf girl thought it might be the blazing sunrise. "Phine?"

"_Oh_, I'm being a fool," she stated, diving her body further in the water. "His presence affects me somehow."

"Of course, they are being perves," Mary said as a matter of fact. "Can you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" Fíli splashed a boyish grinned across his face. It was not as if they were seeing anything they shouldn't, but this was most inappropriate. "Let us know when we can join you, will you?"

"Stop that, Fíli," Dwalin warned, stopping the chatter with Bofur. "Do get a move on, ladies. We haven't got all day."

Kíli still had his eyes fixed on them or rather… _her_. Josephine.

Kíli

Fíli had called him with such a hurry he thought something had happened in the lake. He ran behind his brother and halted his steps when he saw Josephine stand in the water. Her pale skin easily confounded with the water reflexes and her brown hair shined as much as it could with water drops dripping from its tips.

"Look at that, brother," Fíli contemplated the female figures. "Even the elf looks appealing enough."

"What did you say?"

His brother smiled slightly. "Rivalries aside, you must agree her beauty is undeniable. Although I'm pretty sure our uncle would have us killed if he heard such a thing."

With a good amount of control, Kíli said and did nothing that would place him in a further embarrassing situation. Dwalin and Bofur didn't seem to have seen him at all, so he should be safe just looking at her…

But God be damned… she had noticed his presence and he saw her gentle face hide from him. Was she ashamed? Well, she shouldn't be. If there was anyone that should be ashamed was Kíli and him alone for acting so bluntly with her and not so much gentleman-alike.

She muttered something to the dwarf girl and she shouted. "Can you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" his brother played innocent. "Let us know when we can join you, will you?"

If Fíli opened his mouth again…

"Stop that, Fíli," Dwalin admonished him. "Do get a move on, ladies. We haven't got all day."

Finally, she locked her eyes with his as they once did and he didn't even blink. Much to his displease, Fíli spoke again. "Maybe we should call, Mister Baggins. The hysterical hobbit looks quite nice, as well."

As soon as he said that, the sound of leaves being crashed behind them was heard and both turned around instinctively. It was the other Halfling.

"Ah! Mister Baggins!" Fíli welcomed as he slipped an arm over the hobbit's shoulder. "We were just expecting you."

"Oh? Thorin sent me to say that we'll be leaving," he said in his casual tone. "Shall we?

But Fíli didn't care. "Oh, just look at your friend over there. You have been eyeing her, you dog!"

"_I beg your pardon?_" Bilbo looked offended. "I...hum! This is most… _outrageous!_ As if I would look at a lady like that."

Fíli let out a thunderous laughter and Kíli knew he expected him to do the same. But he didn't.

"Fíli…" Dwalin warned again as he stood up and started walking in the opposite direction. "I'm going back. Get them out of the water. _Now._"

"Certainly, Mister Dwalin," Fíli answered responsibly. "Ladies, time is up. Please get ready."

All obeyed and made their way to the shore to grab blankets that would serve as towels. The elf's blanked was too short for her and, for a moment, he wondered if borrowing her his cloak would be too weird. Not that it'd be wide enough for her, but still… better than nothing.

Fíli hadn't stopped grinning yet and it was getting to his nerves.

"I'll be on my way too," Bofur said. "You coming, Master Baggins?"

"Of course," he immediately said as if burned by something. But when the other hobbit made it to the shore… "By God, is she… is she naked?!"

"Indeed, my friend," Fíli confirmed, smiling devilishly. "He'll stay, Bofur. We'll be there in a second."

"As ye wish, laddies," he shrugged, disappearing rather quickly.

"I am not staying! What?" Bilbo protested, but Fíli's strength overwhelmed him. "I have never seen such depravity in my life!"

Kíli couldn't agree more, but he couldn't care less about Bilbo's struggle. His eyes danced as the elf moved to try to get her clothes as dry as possible. She was really poorly dressed… that thin tunic hardly covered anything, let alone when wet.

"Elf, hurry," he feigned harshness.

She looked at him and placed the blanked over her should. It barely got to her back… he fumed inwardly wishing he could do something about it.

Mary

"Well, it's weird the way he looks at you," Mary pointed out.

"I agree," Cristina joined her, much to her surprise. The hobbit was already dressed, although – much like Cristina – she had to make a cleavage of some kind. "He looks at you with hungry eyes. Kind of scary."

"Nonsense," Josephine merely said.

"Think what you want," Mary laughed.

When they were done taking care of their clothes and hairs, they moved up to meet the dwarves and Bilbo. Mary was so distracted with a random stink that she had found on her hair that this time she tripped on a rock and she fell. "Damn."

Fíli immediately came to her rescue as she figured she might have twisted an ankle. He grabbed her by the waist and made sure the blanket wouldn't fall off. That was quite unexpected but nice, at the same time.

"Are you okay, Mary?" Josephine asked with a hand covering her mouth with worry.

"Thank you, Fíli," she thanked with a jolt of pain coming from her foot. "I think I might have twisted it."

"At your service, lady," his smile was not a mocking one. "Let's get you back."

But just when they were about to do so, Thorin appeared with Gandalf behind him. "What is taking you so long?"

Rude as always.

"I fell and twisted my ankle…"

He approached them with large steps and parted Fíli from her with too roughly. "Go with your brother to the camp."

"Fine," Fíli said obviously sensing something.

"There's no need. Really," Mary told Thorin as he now had his arm around her waist.

"Can you walk?"

"No…"

"Then up we go," he spoke, lifting her up in his arms.

Mary placed her arms around his neck and now was her time to blush like Josephine had. That really had been the kindest thing he had done to her since they had met, which meant progress. In their friendship, she meant. His scent was strong and characteristic. A man hardened by battle, by grief, had just lowered his shield for once. For a woman.


End file.
